


Drabbles from District 12

by Rumaan



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-26 13:31:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 10,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5006602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rumaan/pseuds/Rumaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of ficlets written mainly from tumblr prompts</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bodyguard i

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I should probably start collecting all the little tumblr prompt ficlets somewhere!
> 
> These are all likely to be unbeta'd and only read through once so please forgive the inevitable mistakes.
> 
> This was written for the prompt: Your parents are extremely overprotective and hired me to be your bodyguard. (gadge) (if you please)

“This is ridiculous,” Madge said as Gale Hawthorne loomed at her back. “I’m teaching kids how to play the piano not taking on some drug cartel.”

“In the Seam,” Gale Hawthorne said emphatically. “The Seam isn’t safe for you, Miss Undersee.”

Madge rolled her eyes at that. “It’s obvious  _you_  come from the Seam so shouldn’t you be defending it and not accepting all the prejudice?”

“It’s because I’m from the Seam that I know your parents are right. It isn’t safe for you here.”

“It’s a bunch of kids, Mr Hawthorne. At 2 o’clock in the afternoon in the arts centre.”

“It’s Gale,” he said, ignoring her rather generous description of the run down store that had been turned into a centre of sorts by her and some of her friends from the Town for the kids of the Seam to use.

“When you call me Madge, I’ll call you Gale.”

“I’m your bodyguard, Miss Undersee, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to call you anything more familiar.”

Tingles erupted throughout her body at the thought of Gale Hawthorne becoming familiar with her in an inappropriate way and she fought to dismiss them. He had been her bodyguard for just over two weeks now and he had never looked at her with anything other than pure professionalism despite the fact that she had spent the first two days subtly trying to flirt with him. Sadly, it had been to no avail as he’d shown no interest.

“Shame,” she murmured as she stepped out of his protective shadow and towards the old piano she’d found at the dump and cleaned up.

She missed the heat in his eyes as they followed her across the room and the way he tugged at his tie as if it was too tight.


	2. Bodyguard ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part two of the prompt: Your parents are extremely overprotective and hired me to be your bodyguard. (gadge) (if you please)

“This is the job from hell,” Gale moaned.

Thom raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. “You’re such a cliché.”

Gale dropped his face onto the bar. “Why does she have to be so pretty?” he mumbled into the wood.

Thom let out a snort of amusement and said, “Why don’t you just request a transfer from Abernathy?”

It wasn’t that Gale hadn’t thought about it, but he’d been stopped by the thought of someone – Thom perhaps – taking his place. Thom wouldn’t have any qualms about responding to Madge’s gentle attempts at flirtation.

“I hate to break up your pity party, Gale, but isn’t that the delectable Miss Undersee over there?”

“What?” Gale said raising his head. “It can’t be. She’s at home.”

But it was Madge Undersee and she looked as if she’d been conjured straight out of his dreams – or nightmares. He was sure it was most definitely nightmares. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a low cut top that made the most of her cleavage and looking far too beautiful to be out this late in the Seam. On her own.

Thom whistled softly. “Damn!” he said.

Gale glared at him. “She’s off limits!”

“Spoilsport,” Thom said but he raised his hands in surrender.

“I better go and deal with this,” he said, knowing that there was no way Madge was meant to be out at some seedy bar in the Seam. If her parents hired a bodyguard to keep her safe in the Seam in the day then they would probably have fit if they knew she was here at night.

As Gale walked over, he could see a couple of lowlifes eyeing her up and his anger built at her stupidity in coming her alone despite obviously coming from the affluent Town.

“What the hell, Madge?” he said, grabbing hold of her elbow and spinning her around to face him.

“G-Gale!” she exclaimed, shock written all over her face and her hand clutching at her chest. “Dammit, you scared the life out of me.”

“Sorry,” he said, briefly ashamed at scaring her before his irritation at her lack of self-care rose once more. “What are you doing here? Don’t tell me your father knows you’re here because I’m not sure why he hired me if he lets you do this.”

Madge flushed at his words. “No,” she said. “But I’m not as stupid as you think. I am here with friends – well, waiting for them anyway.”

“Who?” he asked suspiciously.

She knew someone from the Seam? He didn’t like the way his stomach twisted up with that knowledge.

“My friend Peeta and his girlfriend, Katniss.”

“Katniss? Katniss Everdeen?” Gale asked, not caring to delve too deeply into why he felt so relieved that she was meeting a couple.

“Yeah. You know her?”

“Childhood friend. Where are they then?”

“Running a little late,” Madge said. “And before you shout at me, I got their text after I’d arrived here.”

“Well, if you’re going to be out in the Seam with someone at least it’s Katniss. You’ll get into no trouble with her. But come and wait over with me.”

She eyed him carefully. “You do realise that I’m an adult of twenty-two, don’t you? I don’t actually need to be chaperoned.”

“Try telling that to your parents,” he muttered before he said more audibly, “Just humour me please, Madge.”

She continued to hang back, testing his patience. “Are you going to be nice to me and treat me as normal person or are you going to loom over me like some bodyguard cliché?”

It was the second time that night he’d been accused of being a cliché and he wasn’t sure he liked the insinuation.

“I’ll sit down next to you and buy you a drink,” he said, trying not to return the grin that emerged on her face and failing.

“Great,” she said, weaving her arm through his and dragging him over to an empty booth at the back.

Gale just had time to gesture to Thom, who just raised his glass in salute, an obnoxious smirk on his face.


	3. Bodyguard iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part iii of the prompt: Your parents are extremely overprotective and hired me to be your bodyguard. (gadge) (if you please)

Madge knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn’t help it. She had been unable to stop thinking about Gale since that night at the bar last week. They had only spent twenty minutes together, but within that twenty minutes he had been a far cry from the aloof, professional bodyguard he usually was, chatting casually with her whilst his arm had brushed against her own, raising goose-bumps and making it hard for her breath normally.

Then it was made worse by how Peeta had teased her about how flirty her bodyguard had been after Gale had returned to his friend whilst Katniss had looked confused at the whole situation.

Now, she was taking things into her own hands and pulling out every rom-com trope she could think of.

First, she’d taken advantage of the hot sunny day and parked herself by the pool in her tiniest, most flattering bikini. Then she had waited for her father to leave for his next meeting. Now, she waiting to put the biggest rom-com cliché of them all into action.

“Gale?” she called, pushing herself up on her elbows so she could see him.

A large shadow blocked out the sunlight as he walked over from the shade where he’d taken refuge. “Yes, Miss Undersee?”

“Could you do me a big favour?”

He quirked an enquiring eyebrow at her.

“I want to turnover but I don’t have any cream on my back. Could you be a dear and put some on please?”

“What?” he choked out and she suppressed her smirk at his flustered facial expression.

“My back. It needs sun cream otherwise I’ll burn.”

“But-” he spluttered.

“Please, Gale,” she said pleadingly. “I really don’t want to have a tanned front and pasty back.”

He visibly gulped and slowly stuck his hand out for the bottle of sun cream.

“Thanks,” she said, handing it over.

Once Madge was on her front, she gave a victorious smile as she felt his weight descend onto the sun lounger.

_Let’s see how stoic you are now, Gale Hawthorne._

She all but jumped as his large hands, greasy with cream, touched her back.

“Sorry,” he grunted. “It’s cold. I probably should have warned you.”

“It’s okay,” she squeaked, trying her hardest not to moan at the sensation of his hands smoothing the cream into her skin.

This was meant to be affecting him not her, but she thought she was going to pass out at how great it was to finally have his hands all over her – albeit in a much more platonic situation than she’d day dreamed about.

He cleared his throat and she used it as her cue to unexpectedly turn over.

Gale’s cheeks were flushed and his pupils enlarged as she faced him. They stared at each other for a long moment before he said quietly, “What are you doing, Madge?”

“Hopefully moving things forward.”

“This isn’t a good idea. You know it’s not a good idea.”

“Why? I like you and I think this,” she said, pointing to the colour in his cheeks, “means you like me.”

He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “Because I’m your bodyguard and there are guidelines against getting into situations like this.”

“Situations like what?” she pushed.

“Becoming entangled with your charge.”

“Is that what you are - entangled?”

“I could be,” he whispered, dropping his eyes to her lips.

Madge shrugged and closed the space between them. “I’m not stopping you. In fact, I’m actively encouraging you.”

“Your father would have my head,” he whispered.

“Who says my father has to know?”

She pushed herself even closer to him, so close that she could practically count his ridiculously long eyelashes, and licked her lips. His eyes dropped to her lips again before his head dipped and his mouth brushed hers. Surging up, Madge wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her fingers through the hair at his nape and pressed her lips firmly against his. Her tongue swiped along his bottom lip, demanding entry and he groaned as he compiled, his hands coming up to cup her cheeks.

Engrossed as they were in each other, neither of them heard the slide of the French patio doors or the stuttering footsteps. It took a loud cough to gain their attention. As they sprang back from each other, Madge could see the panic in Gale’s eyes as he looked up and swore softly under his breath.

She turned her head and saw the angry face of her aunt’s ex-husband and Gale’s boss, Haymitch Abernathy.


	4. Bodyguard iv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part iv of the prompt: Your parents are extremely overprotective and hired me to be your bodyguard. (gadge) (if you please)

In the five days since they’d kissed and Haymitch had chewed him out for taking advantage of a “sweet and innocent young girl” things had been strained.

Gale had tried to recapture the stern professionalism that he had managed for the first six weeks of his assignment, but he couldn’t quite reach it. His eyes lingered for too long on her mouth, his hand would brush the small of her back as he ushered her into her arts centre in the Seam. His mind would relive just how soft her lips were and he’d get lost in a whirl of sensations that made him want nothing more than to push her up against the wall.

It wasn’t even as if Madge tried to help the situation. She was just as provoking as she’d previously been, giving him wide smiles that almost taunted him to lose himself in her and cheerfully asking him about his day. She wasn’t put off by his grunted replies or surly demeanour. In fact, he thought she almost relished it, laughing at his monosyllabic answers and patting his shoulders in response.

Then again, she probably hadn’t got into trouble for “defiling” him. Haymitch hadn’t wanted to listen to his protestations that Madge had started it, instead he shot Gale a filthy glare and told him that if he put his grubby hands all over Madge again then he could kiss goodbye to ever getting another job in security again.

And that was the problem, Gale needed this job. It paid well – a damn sight better than anything he’d worked before. It meant that he could give money every month to his mother and know that she wasn’t working all the hours in the week just to pay the bills and put food on the table.

It was getting Madge to understand this that was proving the problem.

Right now, she reclined in the back seat, a pretty summer dress on, as he drove her back from the art centre. His eyes kept meeting hers in the mirror and he was sure she was playing with her hair solely to drive him crazy.

“Can we stop off at the store?” she asked. “I wanted to pick up some stuff.”

“Sure,” he grunted at her.

He watched as she slid elegantly out of the car and towards the store. He didn’t have to advert his eyes at times like this because she wasn’t going to catch him in the act. He could pretend he was unaffected by her when really he wasn’t.

Gale struggled to remain stoic when she got back in the car and handed him his favourite chips.

“Here,” she said simply.

His eyes met hers once more in the mirror and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. She knew what his snacks were. She cared enough to have noticed.

“Thanks,” he said, popping a chip in his mouth and starting the car back up.

This job was going to kill him.


	5. Bodyguard v

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final part from the prompt: Your parents are extremely overprotective and hired me to be your bodyguard. (gadge) (if you please)

It had been two months since Gale Hawthorne had been replaced as her bodyguard and Madge still felt guilty about it. Had Haymitch fired him because of the kiss? Her aunt’s ex-husband had been furious and in the week afterwards, Gale had been nothing but stony and polite towards her. But she knew she hadn’t imagined the flashes of heat in his eyes when they rested on her.

But when the following Monday had come around, instead of Gale, there had been a petite woman waiting for her.

Madge had stopped on the stone steps outside the house and asked, “Who are you? Where’s Gale? Is he sick?”

“Good morning, Miss Undersee. I’m your new bodyguard, Johanna Mason,” the woman had replied in a sweet but patently false voice and ignoring all questions about Gale.

Madge had gaven her an unimpressed look. This Johanna did not look as if she could be a bodyguard. She was so tiny that Madge had thought she had a chance of taking her.

Almost as if sensing her scepticism, Johanna Mason had raised a challenging eyebrow before she had asked, “Are we going to the Seam or not?”

————

That had been two months ago, and now, as she lay shivering on the floor of the car, Madge knew that Johanna was more terrifying than she could’ve imagined.

“I have the pearl. Repeat, I have the pearl. We are making our way to the safe house. Two suspects are down at the scene, the others escaped,” Johanna was rapidly firing into a headpiece.

“What the fuck is going on?” Madge asked, hating the way her voice trembled and made her sound scared rather than angry.

“You father has been the victim of an attempted blackmail for the past year. The threats against you didn’t start until three months ago, though. It’s why your dad asked Haymitch to assign a bodyguard to you.”

Madge frowned. “I thought it was because he was being paranoid about the Seam.”

Johanna shot her an amused glance. “He planned for you to think that. Didn’t want you to worry.”

“Where are we going?”

“A safe house. We’re not sure if anyone will be waiting to waylay you on the route home. Stay down for now; it’s better if you’re out of sight just in case.”

Madge wasn’t sure for how long she was crouched down, but by the time the car came to a stop, she couldn’t feel her legs anymore.

Before Johanna had turned the engine off, the passenger door was opened.

“What the  _fuck_ , Mason! You were meant to get Madge out there before Snow’s goons turned up,” a deep and angry voice said.

“Calm down, gorgeous, I got your little crush out, didn’t I?”

Madge lifted her head and her eyes met the welcome sight of Gale Hawthorne. With a small cry, she half crawled out of the car, attempting to straighten up but her legs gave out as pins and needles shot through them.

“Careful, Madge, take it easy” Gale said, gentle hands hoisting her up and cradling her against him.

“Look at those bruises around her wrist, Mason! They got hold of her!”

With her head resting against Gale’s chest, she couldn’t see Johanna’s reaction but she bet that the other woman was rolling her eyes.

“Don’t be angry with Johanna, Gale,” Madge murmured. “A lot of other people would’ve failed to get me out of the art centre. She was terrifying.”

“See? Your girlfriend knows what a good job I did,” Johanna said mockingly.

Madge could almost feel the heat of Gale’s glare from how his shoulders tensed.

“Get your girl inside and then start worrying about who is to blame,” Johanna said, unconcern for his anger clear to hear.

Obviously deeming her incapable of walking, Gale swung Madge up into his arms. She probably should complain – she wasn’t helpless, but she’d missed him and relished being this close.

Kissing his cheek and then tucking her head on his shoulder, Madge said, “It’s good to see you, Gale. Where have you been?”

He smiled down at her, apparently unconcerned with appearances now she’d been nearly kidnapped. “Abernathy had me working undercover. I was able to tip them off about the plans to snatch you.”

She shuddered at the memory of thugs grabbing at her and trying to wrestle her into the back of a van. “Don’t leave me again,” she said sleepily, her adrenaline running out and leaving her incapable of keeping her eyes open.

“I won’t,” she heard him say as he pressed a kiss on top of her head.


	6. I told You I would Every Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt: (I told you I would every time.) Gadge at 13?

“Miss Undersee, you need to go and wait over there with that group and you’ll be shown to the single dorms,” the woman processing the refugees from District 12 said.

Madge could see the bright blonde hair of Delly, so she knew that she would be fine. That she wouldn’t be completely on her own, but the thought of leaving the family who’d taken her in, practically all but adopted her over the past couple of days, distressed her.

Posy clutched onto her hand even tighter. “Can’t she stay with us?” the little girl asked tearfully.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” the woman said with a fond smile down at the little Hawthorne, “But only family can stay with family.”

A large hand came to rest on the small of Madge’s back. “She is family,” Gale said sharply.

“Is she related to you?”

“I’m his-” Madge started to say.

“My wife. She’s my wife,” Gale interrupted.

Madge startled at his words, blinking bemusedly up at him. He wasn’t looking at her, his attention completely turned to the District 13 employee, however his thumb smoothed little circles over her skin. He probably thought that he was being comforting, but it caused her skin to tingle where he touched.

There was a frown. “She’s listed on this manifesto as a Margaret Undersee – if she was your wife then wouldn’t she be Hawthorne?”

“We had only been married four hours when the bombs hit,” Gale said. “It’s not our fault the Capitol didn’t wait for the paperwork to be filed.”

The woman shuffled some paperwork around, scowling down at it. “It’s most irregular,” she said. “I’m not sure what to do in this situation.”

Almost as if she wanted to aid and abet her brother, Posy started crying then, tired from the stress of the past four days. Vick and Rory had wandered slightly off to the side, seemingly uninterested in the ‘wife’ their older brother had suddenly acquired.

Hazelle stepped forward then and said, “Would it be okay if I took the other children down to our quarters while you sort out my son and daughter-in-law. They are very tired.”

The clerk, stressed by this unforeseen situation, handed over one of the keys and a thick brochure to Hazelle, who kissed Gale on the cheek and squeezed Madge’s shoulder. “See you both in a little while,” she said calmly before she stooped to pick the crying Posy up.

Madge was confused by the lack of drama anyone else was showing towards Gale’s dramatic proclamation. Posy winked at Madge over Hazelle’s shoulder as they disappeared towards the bank of elevators.

Gale leaned over the desk then with a charming smile on his face and Madge saw the clerk blink dazedly up at him. Normally, she would think it was unfair of Gale to dazzle the poor woman with his good looks but right now she was grateful. “How about if we agree to marry again here so the paperwork is in order?” he suggested.

“That…that would actually work,” the woman said, looking relieved now that she had a way out of this sticky situation. “I’ll note it down on your file and once you have settled in, our officials can marry you once more.”

“But-” Madge began as the situation spun even more out of her control.

“It’s okay, darling. I know it’s not the same as beginning married in our own district, but we did that once,” Gale said, kissing her on the top of her head.

A slightly hysterical laugh bubbled up in her throat and it took all she could to swallow it down as the woman smiled at her and said, “I’m sorry for the mix up, Mrs Hawthorne. You go along to join your family now.”

Before she knew it, Gale was towing her along, his hand wrapped warmly around hers and she gave a little wave to Delly, who stared quizzically at her.

Once they’d gotten in the left, Madge said, “We could’ve told them I was your cousin, you know. That’s what I was about to do when you jumped in.”

Gale shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t fancy being yet another fake cousin.”

“You decided fake husband was a better idea?”

“At least I get to do this,” he said, bending down to press his lips against hers.

Madge’s exclamation turned into a moan as he deepened the kiss, his tongue skilfully caressing hers. She pushed up onto her tiptoes to get closer to him, her hand clutching at his shoulders as he pushed her against the wall of the lift.

The ping of the elevator doors had them jumping apart and coloured flooded into her cheeks. She had spent the better part of the past four years wondering what it would be like to kiss Gale Hawthorne and it was better than anything she had imagined.

“You keep saving me,” she said, as his fingers threaded through hers and he pulled her tight against his side.

“I told you I would every time.”

 

 


	7. GBBO AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt: elimination was a close call between the two of us and you feel so bad about still being in the competition that you invite me out to dinner… failure has never felt this rewarding - Gadge SVP. #TeamNadiya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when the final of The Great British Bake Off was due to air, I asked for GBBO prompts as you do!

Gale had never really expected to last this long, so getting knocked out in the semi-finals wasn’t as devastating as he thought it might be. He was mainly just proud that he had made it this far into _The Hunger Games_ , which was fiercely competitive across the whole of Panem.

In fact, District 12 had never even had two competitors make it through to the filming stages before and their only victor in the history of the baking show was Peeta Mellark, contestant-turned-judge, so he and Madge Undersee making it this far was pretty ground breaking.

But if the guilty looks she kept flashing him were any indication, she thought he was angry with her pipping him to that final spot. He couldn’t exactly blame her. He hadn’t been the nicest to her when they’d both made it onto the show. He’d assumed she’d gotten there because of her friendship with Peeta Mellark and hadn’t been exactly shy in telling her so. She’d been so mad that she’d upended a bowl of cake batter over his head during their final practice before filming started.

As the cameras stopped rolling and they all started to exit the tent, Madge fell into step with him.

“I’m so sorry, Gale,” she said, biting her lip. “I really thought you would get through.” He shrugged his shoulders a little but before he could say anything, she continued, “It totally should’ve been me who was eliminated. My technical was a _disaster_. How can I make this up to you? Let me take you out for dinner tonight, please?”

He’d been about to reassure her that he wasn’t upset at all, but the prospect of dinner with Madge was more than a little tempting. He might have started off angry and resentful towards her in the competition, but she was a talented baker, obviously there on her own merit, and she was incredibly pretty to boot. He’d spent more time than he liked to admit imagining what it would be like to kiss her.

“Dinner sounds great,” he said, giving her the slow smile that he knew flustered people. He wasn’t blind to his good looks or above using them when it benefitted him. And he wanted to fluster Madge Undersee.

She blinked at little at the onslaught of his charm – he had never turned it her way before she smiled back at him. “Perfect. It’s a date then.”

Her eyes widen in horror at her words and she said hastily, “Not a date _date_. I didn’t mean an _actual_ date.”

“Why? Am I not good enough to date now that I’ve been eliminated?” he asked seriously.

“Oh God, no! I didn’t mean that, no! I just-” she trailed off and glared at him. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

He grinned then. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Jerk!” she said, nudging him in the chest with her shoulder.

Gale slid his arm around her waist. “So is it a date?”

“If you want it to be,” she said, turning her face up to look at him, an anxious gleam in her eyes.

He dropped a kiss on the tip of nose and said, “Definitely a date then.”


	8. YouTube Rivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt: "we're youtube rivals and all our fans ship us" - gadge please!! <3

Gale still isn’t even sure how it happened. One minute, he was looking for a way to entertain his siblings that was free but also exciting, and the next minute they were YouTube sensations with millions of followers.

It all started when Katniss gave them a games console with some games and other stuff that apparently Prim got for her birthday, but didn’t like. She’d laid the foundations pretty well, Prim opened it during her birthday party, tried to look upbeat and excited about such a present but basically passed it over to a salivating Rory as soon as she could. A week later, Katniss was at the door with it all in a box, claiming that Prim didn’t want it and unless they took it, she was going to donate it to the charity shop.

Gale’s objections didn’t stand a chance as Rory, Vick and Posy all leapt around him begging him to take it. He hated charity – especially from Katniss now that she’d won the lottery – but he couldn’t resist his siblings.

As much as it pained him to admit it, it was useful, too. He babysat most nights as their mother worked a lot of late shifts at the dry cleaners and nothing motivated his siblings to do their cleaning chores and homework like the promise of being allowed to play some Xbox afterwards.

Then, Posy discovered Stampycat on YouTube and she was _desperate_ to send in a video to his Facebook page so she could be added to his Love Garden. Rory and Vick wanted in, too.

And that was how the Hawthornes became Minecraft YouTube celebrities.

Now they raked in enough cash that Hazelle could work normal hours and spend some actual time with her kids and they didn’t have to shop at the local Goodwill or with coupons. It was the most money any Hawthorne ever had made and Gale was kind of proud of it.

Until the day Rory turned to him with a gleeful smile and said, “You know you’re being shipped, right?”

“What?”

“You’re being shipped with strawberry_fever,” he explained, but Gale continued to look confused. “You know, the one who built that whole Town complex with that Peeta guy. Basically our comment section and their comment section think you should meet and kiss.”

Gale scowled. He hated those two with their stupid kitsch Minecraft world where everything was all twee and happy. He probably wouldn’t hate Peeta Mellark and his sidekick quite as much if Katniss hadn’t started drooling over Mellark after Posy introduced his videos to her. Then he’d found her drooling whilst watching interviews with Mellark when they were fishing and the sickening realisation that she was never going to be into him dawned.

That had been six months ago, and it wasn’t as if Katniss had ever even met the guy, but she still got stupidly goofy when she watched a new video with Posy. It wasn’t even likely that she would meet him, but Gale disliked him on principle. First, he built stupid worlds with bakery competitions and then he’d ensnared Katniss with his dumb commentary. Gale refused to watch any of their footage or even check out what they looked like in real life on principal.

And now he was being ‘shipped’ with the annoying side-kick.

Rory hooted happily again. “You even have a ship name! Gadge.”

“Gadge? What does that even me-?” he started to ask, before he thought better of it and decided that leaving the room was a better idea.

His siblings didn’t bring it up again until they’d been booked for Minecon. Somehow there was a demand for watching them play their world in the flesh, which Gale really didn’t understand, but the money was good, and the kids were excited so it wasn’t something that Gale was going to turn down.

“Guess who’s going to be here?” Vick crowed a few days later. “Madge!”

“Who?” Gale asked.

“Your YouTube girlfriend.”

“You mean Mellark’s side-kick? And I _don’t_ have a girlfriend, especially one from the internet.”

Vick ignored him. “The Gadge tag on tumblr is in meltdown. There’s even fanfic written about you guys meeting and it was only announced this morning.”

“How is this even a thing?” Gale asked perplexed.

In the end, Katniss and Prim tagged along on the trip, too. Gale would’ve been excited, but he knew Katniss was only coming because Peeta Mellark was going to be there and she still had a disgusting case of heart-eyes over him.

Once the Minecon started, Gale was trying to keep his attention on the creeper assault course he’d built for his siblings to fight their way across, but the cute blonde who was throwing him speculative glances was putting him off. She was stunning in that girl-next-door way, with wavy blonde hair and big blue eyes. He’d never thought that was particularly his type, but he was sure he could make an exception for her.

“Hi,” he said, flashing a charming smile. “I’m Gale.”

“I know,” she said with an amused expression. “I’ve seen your YouTube videos.”

“Oh my God,” someone screamed out from the small scrum of people watching Rory and Vick kill creepers. “It’s actually happening.”

“Uh…what?” Gale said clueless as a dozen or so phones turned towards them.

“You really don’t know do you?” the blonde commented. “That’s adorable. I thought the disparaging remarks regarding our world would mean you’d actually seen bothered to check us out!”

The excited fans around them and the glimpse of Katniss looking more animated than he’d ever seen her as she spoke to a stocky blond in the periphery of his vision made him realise what was going on.

“You’re the strawberry girl,” he said!

A flash of annoyance flared in her eyes before she said, “strawberry_fever, otherwise known as Madge.”

Madge. Even if he had known her name before, he would never have pictured her as being its owner. Madge was an old lady’s name and this gorgeous blonde was anything but.

“I came to see if you wanted to put your reputation where your mouth was,” Madge said, staring at him appraisingly. “I was going to take you on at your creeper assault course and challenge you to complete our aesthetic building challenge. At the moment, I’m not sure you’re up to it.”

He snorted in derision. “That doesn’t even seem fair. What do I get when I win?”

“I’ll come and guest spot in your next video where you can continue to talk trash about my world and I have to suck it up. However, that’s not going to happen because _I’m_ going to win and then you have to appear in my next video.”

“You’re on,” Gale said, sticking his hand out for Madge to shake.

Madge turned to the nearest people filming them on their smartphones and asked, “You guys got that?”

Two weeks later, Gale was in Madge’s apartment, taking part in Peeta and Madge’s next video – a garden competition. Any shame he had over his participation in such an event disappeared when Madge let him share her bed later that night.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt: Trick or Treat, Gadge please.

“Please, Madge!” Peeta said, batting his eyelashes in a ridiculously over-the-top manner.

“Ugh, but its trick or treating with sugar high bratty kids,” Madge said, determined to refuse to indulge Peeta in this madness.

She knew why he had convinced his dad that they should open up the bakery in town for trick or treating like so many of the other shops did and she did not want to encourage him. His crush on the elusive Katniss Everdeen was reaching epic proportions and she was beginning to think she was going to have to stage an intervention.

“You know who else takes his siblings out trick or treating every year,” Peeta said with a sly smile. “Gale Hawthorne”

“So?” Madge said, desperately hoping that her skin did not flush the bright pink it usually did when she thought of Gale.

“How long’s it been since you last saw him? The beginning of the summer at least.”

It was true. Madge had just as stupid a crush on Katniss’ best friend as Peeta did on Katniss herself. But while Peeta still got to see Katniss every day at school, Madge hadn’t seen Gale for months now because he was older and had graduated at the end of last year. Not that he’d ever given her the time of day previously. At least Katniss acknowledged Peeta’s existence when he came over to speak to Madge at lunch. Gale had always just pretended she didn’t exist, making plans with Katniss for weekend hunting trips and ignoring any softly murmured “hey” she gave him.

She hadn’t ever told anyone about her monumental crush, but Peeta being Peeta had picked up on it and whenever she gave him grief over his inaction over Katniss, he would bring up Gale.

“For the last time, Peeta, I don’t have a thing for Gale,” she insisted, sure that if she denied it enough times it would actually become true.

“Sure you don’t, Madge,” he said with a wink.

“If I agree to help you give out candy to obnoxious little kids will you shut up about it?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the p with pleasure.

“I guess I’ll see you tonight then,” she said picking up the bag of cheese rolls she’d come for.

“Don’t forget to wear a costume,” Peeta called after her cheerily.

She could kill her best friend, right? No one would ever suspect it was her. Not when he was this annoying.

\------------

Oh God! He was dressed as Han Solo, which was totally unfair. Her crush was bad enough and that was _before_ she’d seen him dressed as the snarky asshole space captain who’d been her first real fictional crush.

The Hawthornes had a complete Star Wars theme going on and Gale’s little sister was obviously far too small for her Leia costume to be creepily matched to her eldest brother. His two brothers were dressed as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader and if there was a best costume competition, Madge was sure they’d have won it hands down.

“If it isn’t everyone’s favourite dysfunctional family,” Peeta quipped as the kids came over their pumpkin buckets outstretched for the spooky mini cookies that Peeta had baked and decorated especially for that night.

“Excuse me?!” Gale said outraged.

“Erm…I meant the Skywalkers obviously, not you Hawthornes,” Peeta said, a flush mounting his cheeks at the disdainful look Gale sent his way.

“Katniss not with you?” Peeta asked, his head craning around Gale as if she would be hiding behind him.

“Obviously not,” Gale said.

The hostile tone wasn’t muted and Madge wanted to kick his skins for being such a dick.

“She said she’d meet us here, right Gale? I want to see them. Prim told me Luke Skywalker was her favourite,” one of the brothers said.

“Yeah,” Gale said to his brother before turning back to Peeta and adding, “But I wouldn’t get your hopes up, it’s not like she’s going to agree to go out with you or anything.”

That was it. Madge was officially fed up with Gale’s attitude.

“Ugh…why do you have to be such a di-” Madge started to say but stopped abruptly aware that Posy was staring up at her intently. “Scruffy nerf-herder?”

Gale’s siblings burst into laughter and Madge internally quailed as he turned his slate grey eyes onto her expecting him to hit back with some mean comment. However, there was no anger there, but a glimmer of amusement and some grudging respect.

“Didn’t think you had it in you, Princess.”

“There’s lots you don’t know about me, Gale Hawthorne,” she retorted and then realised that she sounded a little flirtatious, which she definitely didn’t think she had in her, but apparently she wasn’t just surprising him.

As more trick or treaters came in, Madge went over to give them candy. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time, however when she turned around he was looking in the opposite direction.

Wanting to make the most of the situation, she tried to think of something else to say to him but nothing came to her, which was typical as for once she actually had his attention. Luckily, before it became too awkward, Katniss decided to show. Madge avoided looking in Gale’s direction while Peeta flirted ineptly with Katniss, but as the big group left, she caught his eye and he gave her a wink and a smile.

She wasn’t sure if she had actually hallucinated it when Peeta gave her a hi-five and asked, “Do you reckon if I insulted Katniss, she’d suddenly become as intrigued as Gale was?”

“I think it only works on dicks.”

“Good job Gale’s one then,” Peeta said and they both started laughing.

 


	10. Cat!Peeta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @tesadoraofphaedra requested weeks ago a completely different Gadge + cat fic and I struggled to think of anything! Then this happened and it sort of combines Halloween-y magic themes with Gadge so I thought I’d write it as part of my Halloween drabbles.

****

“Oh, Gale! You got a cat?!” Prim asked as she and Katniss entered his apartment.

“Uh no,” he replied, confused until he saw the cat in question, lounging on his sofa as if it owned the place. “How did it get back in? That’s the fifth time this week and I _know_ I didn’t leave a window open this morning. I checked!”

“It’s so adorable,” Prim squealed, going over to it and picking it up and checking its tag. “Hello Peeta, aren’t you gorgeous boy.”

“Don’t be friendly,” Gale admonished. “The beast will probably get ideas and want to move in.”

Prim rolled her eyes and said to the cat, “You wouldn’t want to live with Grumpy Gale, would you? You have better taste than that!”

“Grumpy Gale is giving up his bed for you and Catnip so show some gratitude,” he replied.

The cat lifting its head at the use of his nickname for Katniss, squirmed to get out of Prim’s arms and then made its way over to Katniss, where it weaved in and out of her legs, purring loudly and head butting her every couple of seconds. Bemused, Katniss bent down and scratched the kitty behind its ears.

Shaking his head at the sight of his best friend who usually didn’t even _like_ animals you couldn’t kill to eat, Gale said, “Let’s get the pair of you settled and then return the cat to its owner.”

Prim pouted and asked, “Couldn’t we keep him for a couple of hours? His owner might be out and he might be lonely.”

“Fine, if no one answers then you can play with it for the afternoon.”

The pretty blonde who owned the cat was usually in anyway. The first time he’d returned the cat, he’d gone over there prepared to yell, but she’d opened the door, been so apologetic, scolded her cat in such an endearing way and stammered out her apologies to him that he didn’t have it in him to shout at her. In fact, every time he went to return the cat he thought about asking her out, but he tended to lose his nerve once she was standing in front of him. He wasn’t the best at dating and it would be really awkward if it didn’t work out when they live on the same floor.

He was disappointed when she wasn’t in.

\------------

Later that evening, Madge closed the door and then turned to glare at Peeta.

“How many times have I told you to stop going over there?” she asked.

The cat sat on her coffee table and licked his paws before he replied, “Well, if I didn’t go over, you would never have spoken to Gorgeous Gale, or even know his name, so I figure you owe me.”

“Ugh, you’re just trying to push me into a relationship so this stupid curse lifts and you get to be human once more.”

“Pushing you into a relationship didn’t work, remember? We did that with Marvel _and_ Thresh and I’m still a cat. Nope, you need to find true love and he’s the best lead we’ve had for over two centuries.”

Madge sighed. She hated it when Peeta was right, but he was. Gale was the first man to interest her since Thresh in 1948 and she _knew_ it was different this time. She could almost taste the electricity in the air when Gale was around.

However, she’d been cursed in 1805 when things were a lot less progressive than they were now and the man had to woo her, not the other way around. She was trying to be patient but all her attempts at showing him how available she was had failed so far and he was yet to ask her out on a date.

That was when Peeta had decided to meddle. To be honest, it had been a miracle that he had waited as long as he had as all her attempts to attract Gale’s notice prior to his drastic intervention hadn’t worked.

Yet, for all Gale’s charming smiles and lingering conversation at her door, he hadn’t made any move on her and Madge was _really_ tired of being twenty-one. She’d been fed up a week after her birthday and it was now over two hundred years later and twenty-one was not getting any better.

Madge flopped onto the sofa and looked sadly at Peeta. “I don’t think he’s ever going to ask me out,” she said.

He rolled his eyes as sassily as a cat could and said, “Yeah, he will. He’s just being stubborn about it. He’s got company this week anyway. His best friend and her little sister – I reckon they’ll soon whip him into shape.”

She pointed her finger at him. “Just stop using your magic to get into his place.”

Peeta gave her a hideously smug cat look and she knew it was a lost cause.

\------------

“Who’s the cute blonde?” Katniss asked, later that night when Prim was taking a shower at getting ready for bed.

Gale tried to play dumb. “Cute blonde?”

“Stupid is not a good look on you, Gale, so cut it out. You’re interested. I know you are. You’ve got that look about you.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Fine. Try and deny it, but it’s your loss. She’s cute and she’s totally into you, too.”

He looked at her then a little eagerly. “You think so?”

Katniss gave him her best unimpressed look and then said, “Just ask her out already.”

Gale woke up the next morning to the cat sitting on his chest, purring obnoxiously loudly.

“How are you back?” he asked, more bemused than ever. “I don’t even understand how you get in here!”

The cat kneaded his chest, which _really_ hurt as he didn’t even have a t-shirt on and then jumped on the floor and ran towards Gale’s bedroom as the door opened.

Katniss peered out and asked, “Who are you talking to?”

Then the cat rubbed against her bare legs and she looked down in confusion. “It’s back,” she said, surprised before she bent to stroke along its back.

Gale heard the furball’s purr from across the room.

“You want to take it back whilst I put the coffee on?” he asked.

“Oh no!” Katniss replied. “You don’t get out of seeing the cute blonde that easily! Go and ask if she wants to have breakfast with us.”

He pulled on a t-shirt, scooped up the cat and then left the apartment. Knocking quietly on the apartment door, part of him hoped she wouldn’t hear.

The door swung open and Madge appeared with glorious bedhead. “Gale? Is everything okay?” she asked sleepily.

“Er…yeah. I just wanted to return this,” he said, handing the cat out.

“Again, Peeta!” Madge scolded as she took her pet off him. “I’m really sorry about this.”

She started to close the door as he hesitated about following Katniss’ advice and asking her around for breakfast, but the thought of losing his opportunity had him putting his hand on it to stop it closing any further as he stuttered, “Do you want to come over and join us for breakfast?”

Pulling the door open again, she grinned at him and said, “I’d love to.”

\--------------------

A week later, Peeta was preening in front of her mirror as Madge tried to shove him out the way.

“It was better when you were a cat,” she grumbled as she attempted to apply mascara in the tiny corner he was allowing her to have.

“This is your _third_ date, Madge,” he replied. “My need is greater! This is my _first_ date since Delly Cartwright back in 1804!”

“You’re forgetting about that tabby,” she said cheekily.


	11. Halloween Prank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt: Oooh ok, Idk if you had a prompt list, I couldn't find it, and I actually hunted a Halloween themed meme because we don't do halloween here and I know nothing of it, so... GADGE! "Pranked the wrong person on accident" pretty please? :3

“What the hell are you doing to my car?!”

The shout had Madge turning around in a panic as someone who had the same colouring as Thom but who was much taller and angrier stalked towards her furiously. She couldn’t help but notice that angry was a good look on the guy.

“Er…” she stammered, completely incapable of getting a sentence out.

“What the fuck!” he exclaimed as he took in the full glory of the car she and Delly had ‘decorated’ for Halloween.

Speaking of Delly; where had her friend disappeared to?

“You’re not Thom,” she finally managed to get out.

“Damn right I’m not Thom and you better start cleaning this shit of my car _right now_!”

Finally, Delly appeared looking aghast at the scene of Gale looming over Madge, who had shrunk back against the car in an effort to escape his temper. Thom was with her and he was slouched against Delly, he was laughing so hard.

“Gale!” he gasped out. “It’s a mistake. Delly got her friend to help prank my car – only she didn’t realise that you’d lent me your car the other night.”

“You mean, my car looks like this by _accident_ ,” Gale spluttered out.

Madge fervently nodded her head, wishing the gorgeous but angry Gale would stop looking at her as if she’d killed his puppy and desecrated its corpse.

Delly came over then, all stumbling apologies and fluttering hands. As his attention was off her, Madge took the opportunity to start rectifying their mistake, beginning to untie the dancing skeletons she’d just finished tying to the bumpers.

A large hand settled over hers and stopped her. She looked up apprehensively into Gale’s face. The anger had gone and amusement was lurking in his eyes. “Hang on,” he said. “I’m due to take my younger siblings out trick or treating later, my little sister will love the car.”

“Really?” she asked. “I can get it cleaned up.”

He smiled at her then and she felt her heart rate rise at the utter charm of it. “How about you help me out tomorrow instead?”


	12. Please Don't Sleep in Your Underwear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt: "please don’t sleep in your underwear, you’re making this way weirder than it has to be" gadge, but with madge the one in the underwear heh

“Wha-” Gale stuttered as he came into their room before breaking off and swallowing painfully.

Madge turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised.

Gale cleared his throat and started again. “You’re wearing  _that_?”

She looked down at the tiny camisole top and lacy panties she was prancing around their shared bedroom in before she shrugged and said, “Yeah. Why? You got a problem with it?”

Damn right he had a problem with it. It was bad enough that Katniss had been left in charge of hiring the vacation cabin for their group of friends and had just assumed there would be a pull out couch that he could sleep on, so he was stuck sharing with the only other single person in their group of friends, but now he had to share a bed with her whilst she wore tiny inappropriate  _underwear_  which showed off every luscious curve she had, letting him know that every fantasy he’d ever had about her had been no exaggeration.  

On the other hand, he  _was_  being appropriate. He even had a t-shirt on.

“Please don’t sleep in your underwear. You’re making this way weirder than it needs to be,” he finally said, desperately trying to get her to wear something more.

She rolled her eyes and ignored him completely, folding her clothes and putting them on the armchair under the window. Gale couldn’t help but just stand and watch.

“Are you going to stand there all night or are you coming to bed?” Madge asked, turning the covers down on a bed that had seemed perfectly big enough for platonic bed sharing until she’d decided to sleep in her underwear.

Ignoring the way his mind turned Madge’s words into something far less innocent, Gale turned the lights off and slid into bed, sleeping as close to the edge as he could get.

———–

“Damn you, Jo, you told me this would work!” Madge whined the next morning, as she sipped her coffee on the porch.

She and Jo were the only two left at the cabin. Gale had been long gone before she woke up and a sleepy Peeta had informed her that he and Katniss had gone fishing. Apparently the pair of them were incapable of being this immersed in nature and not kill something to eat. Peeta and Delly, Jo’s girlfriend, had gone into the town to stock up on non-roadkill food.

“What?! You mean it didn’t?”

“Nope. He slept on the edge of the bed all night like some old spinster afraid of losing his virtue.”

Jo snorted so hard that coffee dripped out her nose.

Madge passed her a napkin and said dejectedly, “It’s Gale Hawthorne, he’s meant to be  _easy_.”

“Hasn’t he always been weird about you, though?”

“Yeah,” she said sadly. “But the past few years, we’ve managed to be friendly. I thought he’d gotten over his hatred for my wealth and privilege, but last night he acted as if he’d catch rich cooties from me.”

“Nah, Gale doesn’t hate you,” Jo said decisively. “He gives you too many longing looks when your back is turned for that.”

She shook her head. “I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. If he had any kind of crush on me then I gave him the perfect opportunity last night to do something about it. It’s not as if he’s exactly shy with the ladies.”

“Maybe that’s the problem. Perhaps he doesn’t want a holiday hook-up with you, maybe he wants more. I’m not sure Gale knows how to do anything other than casual hook-ups.”

Madge thought about Jo’s words carefully. It was true that Gale had never had a serious girlfriend. There had been his unrequited crush on Katniss for the duration of their teenage years, followed by some sort of casual arrangement with Jo and a procession of girls from bars.

“So you think I should give it another try tonight?”

“Definitely. There’s no way Gale can resist another night of you parading around in one of those lacy underwear sets you love. I’m not sure any red-blooded person can.”

———-

“I think she’s trying to kill me,” Gale whined to Katniss, who was very steadily staring at the lake with no reaction.

If Gale wasn’t used to how taciturn his best friend was, he might have read more into this. However, Katniss had never been loquacious and she wasn’t very good with feelings, but he’d never let that stop him for venting to her before.

“Seriously though, Catnip, who does that? I wore pyjamas and I  _hate_  pyjamas, but Madge somehow thought it was somehow normal for her to wear pretty much nothing.”

He fell silent for a long moment as he checked his rod and fidgeted with his bait box. “If she does it again tonight, I might have to build a pillow line down the middle. I can’t sleep on the edge of the bed again. I nearly fell out at least three times.”

Katniss heaved a deep sigh and rolled her eyes. “I thought you were meant to be good at this, Gale. The amount of times I had to deal with giggling girls going on about the great Gale, king of the slagheap.”

He pouted. “I am good at this.”

“Apparently not if you’ve never noticed the large crush Madge has always had on you.”

“What?”

Scoffing scornfully, Katniss turned towards him and said, “Do you really think the lack of a pull-out couch was a mistake? No, Jo made me do it. Something about getting you and Madge into the same bed and watching the sparks fly because you haven’t exactly been as subtle in your own crush on her.”

Gale stared at his best friend, confused by the direction the conversation had suddenly taken. First off, he had thought he’d kept his attraction to Madge on the down low, but apparently even Katniss had noticed. Then there was the confusing information that Madge Undersee had been harbouring a crush on him for a long time.

“Huh!” he said eloquently. “So you mean she was wearing that tiny camisole and lacy panties to mess with me?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying and you appear to have reacted to it as if you’re a heroine in some regency romance.”

A slow smile spread across his face as Katniss’ words sunk in and the realisation that he could potentially live out some of the fantasies that had plagued him for the best part of year that very night sunk in.

———–

Madge’s eyes couldn’t help but track down Gale’s very naked chest as she returned from brushing her teeth. Gone were the very sensible pyjamas from last night and he was stripped down to just his boxer briefs and heat bloomed in her stomach at the sight.

“Oh thank goodness!” she exclaimed, striding towards him and running her hands up his muscled chest. “I thought you were going to actually going to sleep on the floor tonight.”

She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him down for a kiss.


	13. The Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Had there ever been a more magical night?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the amazing @hawtsee for the prompt: Meet at a masquerade party and falling for one another before taking off the masks

Madge didn’t think she’d ever had such a magical night as this one. For a start, the words magical and District Twelve weren’t exactly synonymous and secondly because she had never been the centre of attention before. Not like this anyway. Usually, when people noticed Madge it was because she had slightly nicer things than everyone else in the District (a lot nicer than anything anyone in The Seam owned) and they were resentful of the fact.

However, tonight everyone was the same. They all wore fabulous costumes and masks that had been transported into Twelve from District One, for the Hunger Games Ball. It felt a little wrong to enjoy a night that had been won off the backs of Katniss and Peeta’s suffering in the Games arena, but it wasn’t as if the District had a choice. This event was held every year with highlights televised across Panem. It had always been Madge’s favourite Games event. It was something spectacularly beautiful coming out of something awful. In District Twelve, it was more egalitarian than most other Districts because, due to their small size, everyone was there.

Including the tall man who had been dancing with her all evening.

He had come up to her half an hour into proceedings and asked for her hand for one of the energetic reels and they had danced together all night, only breaking off to enjoy some of the sumptuous food that had been supplied along with the costumes. Madge, usually so quiet, found the anonymity of the mask and unusual clothes gave her a confidence that usually did not come out in large gatherings, which had enabled her to flirt lightly with her partner. He had responded in kind and the delicious evening had only gotten better.

Now, with only five minutes before the clock struck midnight, Madge and her stranger where secreted away in a shadowy corner sharing frantic kisses before the illusion of the night was shattered forever.

As her partner lifted his head from her neck and went to capture her lips once more, she put a hand on his chest. “Whatever happens in a couple of minutes, promise you won’t hate me,” she said nervously.

He smiled and said lightly, “How could I hate you? I am eager to know who you are so I can see you again.”

For the first time since he had come up to her, a sick feeling of dread entered her stomach. The Mayor’s daughter was not held in high regard by many in District Twelve. She was soft and too well fed compared to others. Anxious that her masked beau would eat those words all too soon and look at her with a face of disgust, she pulled his mouth back to hers and kissed him with a passion born from desperation that nothing would change, but a real fear that he would want nothing to do with her.

“Hey,” he said softly, pulling back only an inch or so. She could still feel his breath graze her mouth and his eyes glittered from behind his mask. “What are you so worried about.”

Before she could answer, give him a clue about just who she was, the countdown, led by Effie Trinket, to the unveiling started. As they hit zero, she replied, “You’re about to find out.”

Pulling the silken strings of her mask, Madge undid the bow and pulled the soft satiny fabric away from her face with her eyes downturned. She didn’t want to see the disappointment in her partner’s eyes as he realised just who he had spent the evening with. The lack of any exclamation had her looking back up and her heart skipped a beat as she locked eyes with none other than Gale Hawthorne.

His face was frozen into shock and he continued to just stare at her while her own mind whirled with the implications of this. Out of everyone in the District, somehow she had spent the evening with the boy with who she shared the most complicated relationship. She was never quite sure if Gale hated her or not. Katniss insisted that he didn’t; that he just hated the inequality of a system that punished his family so harshly and had forced him down into the mines at the tender age of eighteen. However, when he sniped at her it felt like it was personal. Like he blamed _her_ for everything that was wrong with Panem.

“Gale,” she murmured and stretched out a hesitant hand towards his arm.

“Don’t,” he said roughly as he stepped further back and out of her reach. “Just don’t.”

With one last long look at her, his face shuttered off, he turned and walked quickly away from her and back into the cheering crowds.

And just like that, the magic dissipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](http://rumaan.tumblr.com/) if you so wish.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](http://rumaan.tumblr.com/) where I do vast amounts of flailing over fictional characters.


End file.
